John B. Rodrigues of Swansea passed away peacefully on Monday, October 25, 2010 following a long illness. He was 84 years old.
Born in Arcos de Valdevez, Portugal, John was the son of the late Joao Luis Rodriguez and Ana Barreira Rodrigues. In 1951, he immigrated to the United States, and after a short courtship, married Lucy Furtado of Fall River, Massachusetts.
John was a businessman most of his life. He owned Westerly Bakery in Westerly, Rhode Island, and then Goulet’s Pastry Shop in Fall River, Massachusetts. Later in his life, he served as a Mate/Chef for Boston Fuel Transportation Company, and later was employed by Exxon, where he was promoted to Fleet Chef. Family, cooking, tending his gardens, his yard and home were all his passion.
Besides his wife, John is survived by three children: his daughter, Dorinda Collins of Swansea; his sons, Kevin Rodrigues of Connecticut and Douglas Rodrigues of Swansea; 3 siblings: Manuel Rodrigues of Somerset, and Laurinda Rodrigues Pereira and Ana Rodrigues Gonsalves, both of Portugal; 2 granddaughters: Kristen Beland and Alexandra Dominguez; 1 one great grandson: Kai Beland, and several nieces and nephews.
His funeral will take place from the MANUEL ROGERS AND SONS FUNERAL HOME, 1521 N. Main St, Fall River, Thursday 9 AM followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at St. John of God Church at 10 AM. Cremation to follow. Calling hours Wednesday 4-8 PM. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the American Cancer Society.